Joey Khu Interior Design

Credit: PHYLLICIA WANG

Metallic surfaces and dark finishes meet pops of colours and playful shapes in this bachelor pad in the Jalan Besar area.

This 42-year-old three-room HDB flat in Jalan Besar had a dark, congested interior when the homeowner bought it.

A bachelor in his mid-40s. For the flat’s renovation, he engaged interior designer Joey Khu – who designed his first home – and gave him free rein in the design.

Who lives here A bachelor in his 40s
Home A three-room resale HDB flat in Jalan Besar area
Size 819 sq ft
Interior Designer Joey Khu Interior Design

The monochromatic colour palette is balanced with colourful furniture and playful shapes.

Facilitating this, Joey made major alterations to the flat’s layout, opening up one bedroom to create an airy, open living-dining area and adding a wardrobe, general storage, and a kitchen made entirely of dark stained elm wood and stainless steel without inserting new partitions.

Twin half circle rugs (one from the owner’s old place and the other bought new for the home), demarcate the living area featuring Magis armchair and Wendelbo sofa from Made & Make.

The homeowner’s previous home was dominated by dark surfaces. This time Joey suggested lightening it up with metal laminates with a milled finish from Catalyste, which has a soft reflective quality.

Used in the dining area, bedroom and kitchen, these large-format metallic surfaces cast poetic shadow play into the interior.

These are paired with the aforementioned dark-stained elm wood veneers, limestone plaster from Performance Coating, fluted glass, tiles, marble and terrazzo in various shades of grey.

An artwork by a Thai artist made with paper tags from fashion house Comme des Garcons.

For me, luxury is not about expensive materials. It’s about balanced proportions, layers, depth, and the contrast of not just colours but also forms, and textures.

– Joey Khu Interior Designer
The stately custom dining table is paired with dimmable Swan wall light from Nemo, an Alu chair from Valerie Objects, and custom cobalt blue and black chairs.

The materials are also used in all custom-made furniture. “The material repetition manages to unify and give a sense of order to the whole,” Joey explains.

“The combination of designs in different grains and colours creates a collage effect, contrasting with the off-white limestone plastered walls.” He layered this monochromatic palette with pops of colours via the furniture and accessories that lend a Bauhaus-inspired look.

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A view to the kitchen from the washbasin area.

The centrepiece of the living-dining area is a stately 2.5-metre-long angled dining table that doubles as a work desk and meeting table.

The kitchen is separated from the living and dining area by a glass wall. The geometric artwork is customised by Joey from various laminates.

“The form of the tabletop and leg placements allow flexibility of usage and caters to more seats. I designed the tabletop with different directions for the veneer joint arrangement to enhance its forms,” Joey elaborates.

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The kitchen counter features a rippled quartz surface that mimics a Zen garden.

Sleek custom-made stainless-steel chairs with cobalt blue and black colours complete the look.

The washer and drier are hidden inside the kitchen island

The contrasting wall textures add a sense of modernism.

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The shower niche can be closed using the fluted glass sliding door to hide the fixture when not in use.

The bathroom comprises a dry vanity area and a wet shower area. A tinted fluted glass door separates the shower and the toilet, while another stainless steel fluted glass door can be slid over the shower fixtures to hide them when not in use.

The toilet has a protected view to the outside, so it becomes sort of a cigar room with a thinking throne

Joey and the homeowner curated the furniture and artwork to create an impactful design.

One of the standout elements is a painting made with fashion brand Comme des Garcons’ paper tags, which form the abstract portrait of designer Rei Kawakubo.

A pop of cobalt blue from the bed frame creates a Bauhaus-inspired look in the bedroom.

“For me, luxury is not about expensive materials. It’s about balanced proportions, layers, depth, and the contrast of not just colours but also forms and textures,” he says.